THE election contest gets personal today, as an increasingly desperate Tory party steps up its drive to win crucial Westcountry seats.

The Conservatives need to win 10 more seats in Devon and Cornwall to secure a majority of just one.

But recent opinion polls point to a hung parliament, and on day one of the Western Morning News' Marginal Mystery Tour, the signs are that voters in the region are yet to be persuaded by the prospect of David Cameron as PM.

The Conservatives will launch a highly personal attack on Gordon Brown today in a new advertising blitz. Campaign posters will go up in key seats across Devon and Cornwall featuring close-up images of the Prime Minister grinning, alongside negative claims about his record in office.

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Slogans featured next to Mr Brown's profile include "I took billions from pensions – vote for me" and "I let 80,000 criminals out early – vote for me".

The posters were released as the war of words between Labour and the Conservatives intensified with less than six weeks to go until the expected May 6 election.

Created by M&C Saatchi – the architects of the successful "Labour isn't working" campaign in 1979 – the posters marked a toughening of the Tories' positioning. Previous posters have featured a similarly close-up shot of Mr Cameron, which was accused by Labour of being air- brushed and has been savagely spoofed on the Internet.

The new focus on Mr Brown indicates Tory confidence that the premier is a potential liability for Labour. But it is not clear how the message will play out in key Tory/Lib-Dem marginal seats in the Westcountry. This week Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will visit three seats in Cornwall which are under threat from resurgent Tories, who are themselves expected to send senior frontbenchers to rural seats in the region before Easter.

Mr Cameron used a speech at the weekend to urge Conservative activists to use the "40 days and 40 nights" before polling day to convince voters to ditch Labour.

The Tory leader admitted the election would be a "close fight" but insisted it was one the Conservatives had to win for the good of the country.

Mr Brown is expected to call a May 6 election next Tuesday, to the exasperation of Downing Street staffers. "Typically he is leaving it until the last possible minute," one told the WMN.

Hundreds of hunt supporters are reportedly under orders to ride into action in key marginal seats within hours of the General Election being called, in the knowledge that David Cameron will allow a return to hunting with dogs if he gets to Downing Street. Operating under new rules of engagement to save their sport at the ballot box, their goal is to ensure the election of a Conservative administration led by Cameron and to help pro-hunting candidates of all parties to be elected as MPs.

But even as Mr Brown again acknowledged Labour was "the underdog", he insisted it would "never give up". "We are fighting for Britain's future – and we intend to win."

He set out Labour's five key pledges for the election, which he said were "substantial, deliverable and carefully costed". They were to secure the recovery, raise family living standards, build a "hi-tech" economy, protect frontline investment in policing, schools, childcare and the NHS, and strengthen fairness in communities. But Mr Clegg insisted only his Lib-Dems offered "real change". "It is astonishing that after 13 years in charge, the best Labour can come up with is a list of vacuous pledges wrapped up in management speak," he said. "Between them Labour and the Conservatives have failed to come up with a single specific positive reason to vote for them."

Last week's Budget appeared to have made little difference to Tory prospects. Despite general dissatisfaction with Alistair Darling's financial statement, there were small and conflicting changes in the state of the parties. The Tories' lead was between five and eight points, according to three different polls, none of which were enough to install Mr Cameron in Number 10.